


Election Year

by WStock



Series: The Royal Family of New Orleans [2]
Category: The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 00:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16776118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WStock/pseuds/WStock
Summary: After Tiana expresses her desire to vote in the presidential election to Naveen, she mistakenly believes he does not believe women should vote.





	Election Year

A car pulled up to the grand Maldonian castle which was built of polished marble, and the Royal Queen of Maldonia exited, her bodyguards, Tinjeh and Fredrich hurriedly stepping in front and back of her. It was January 16, 1928, and Tiana had left New Orleans on January 2. She hated staying in New Orleans for so little time, but she also missed her husband and she knew he was too busy at the time to come to New Orleans.

She walked into the grand hall where she was formally greeted by a variety of servants and maids and she politely greeted them as well.

She was happy that the ex-Queen, Lady Nagina Hiregi I, was nowhere in sight. It was no secret that she disliked Tiana, and Tiana disliked Nagina, as well, for the latter was incredibly superficial and vain, although she did attempt to hide this, and their relationship had been adequate during 1926, when she had first met her, but just a few months ago, Nagina had been sent a letter by the ex-Duke of Maldonia, Lucas who was attempting to create a scandal in the royal family. The letter's contents, which Nagina reluctantly detailed to Naveen, was a written threat to reveal a secret which had been hidden for years, which was that in 1904, a girl had been born to a maid in the castle out of an affair with the Royal King Kabir. The child was named Telenia and given to a maid to raise up, never becoming aware of her upbringing until 23 years later, when she was informed by Naveen. She had been engaged in an affair with Lucas for several years then, and eventually shot him and a witness. She was then driven mad with guilt, and poisoned herself. When Nagina was informed of this, she had smiled and replied, "Good riddance". Tiana had slapped her, and they had both loathed each other since that day.

She glanced around to see if Naveen was in the room. He was not, so she walked up to a maid and tapped her on the back. She cleared her throat. "Griselda, have you seen Naveen today?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay, thanks." Tiana walked upstairs, and entered the hallway which was long and full of statues of Bolda and the Maldonian crest hung on the wall. A long, velvet carpet covered the polished marble floor, and priceless vases stood on stands. Expensive paintings hung on the wall. Tiana moved down the hallway and into another hallway which was decorated similarly, and then spotted a servant, Maashi, who was dusting a statue of King Ravidas.

"Maashi, heve yo sewando Naveen todab?" Tiana asked. This was the way that a Maldonian would say, "Have you seen Naveen today?" She had learned a few Maldonian phrases.

"Bo seren da is ben dals ofaner rekansa," Maashi responded, for this was the way that a Maldonian would say, "I think he is in his office working." Luckily, Tiana understood all the words in the sentence, for there were many times in which they used words that disconcerted her.

"Ques yo," Tiana replied, which is the way that a Maldonian would say, "Thank you?"

Maashi curtsied in the Maldonian style (which is not at all like ours) and did it very well because, of course, she had been taught how, and went back to dusting the statue. Tiana walked down a few more hallways and up a few hallways past several servants, all of whom either bowed or curtsied to her. She then reached the door to Naveen's office, which she found to be locked, and so she knocked on the door.

"Hol ben be?" Naveen's voice said from within. Tiana knew this to be the Maldonian way of saying "Who is it?" and so she replied, "It's me, Tiana."

"Oh, Tiana, my darling wife! Come in, come in!" Naveen cried, and unlocked the door. Tiana entered to find him standing near the door. He wore the King's uniform, which was a purple tunic with a long green tarp over the left shoulder, and three golden buttons down the middle and the Maldonian crest leading from his neckline to his right shoulder. Golden stripes adorned the sleeves of his shirt. He held a cigarette between the fingers of his right hand.

"I am glad to see you! Welcome back, my wife!" Naveen grabbed his wife and flung her into his arms. "I missed you so much. It was not the same sleeping alone in that great old bed." Tiana rolled her eyes. "And of course, I missed your company, as well. So, how was your visit?"

"Just fine," Tiana said, standing up. 

"Anything particularly exciting happen?" Naveen asked.

"We went to see a picture, and Lottie got so mad at the character Mary Pickford was playing that she tore the goddamn screen open."

Naveen laughed. "She what?"

"Yep. We had to pay for it, and it got in the damn newspaper."

Naveen's eyes darkened. "Oh, no. And you were there with her. The Maldonian reporters will really love this, and so will the American reporters, for that matter."

"Well, Mr. LaBouff explained that one of Lottie's hoodlum friends had slipped alcohol into her soda earlier that day."

"Oh." Naveen sighed with relief. "So we can use that story, then."

"Yep."

"Well, anyway, I was just in the middle of a very important discussion with Rosebury and Manna." His tone grew flirtatious. "But our panza is more important, so we should..."

"Naveen..." Tiana looked over at Rosebury and Manna, who were watching them quizzically. She was grateful of the fact they could not speak English. "Let's do that later, okay?"

Naveen shrugged. "Okay." He held the door open for Tiana, who walked out.

()()()()

Tiana entered the large bedroom that Naveen's parents had slept in for more than 30 years. She then lay down on the bed and cracked her toes, and sighed. She had missed Naveen all through the ship ride, and she would have enjoyed some time with him, but she would not permit herself and Naveen the embarrassment of excusing themselves for such a reason. She would have stayed with Naveen to discuss whatever issues were of concern, since she was the Queen, but Naveen's advisers all spoke Maldonian, so she would have been of no use. She was determined, therefore to learn Maldonian, so she could participate in such issues. The ship had arrived very early in the morning, so she decided to sleep for a few hours before she called in Rosetta Laert, her Maldonian language teacher.

Tiana took in the sight of her own image in the giant brass mirror attached to the ceiling as she opened her eyes once more. She glanced over at the hands on the clock that stood in the corner of the room. It read 10:08, so she decided it was time to make herself once more a functioning organism in the world. She cracked her neck, then pulled herself up and walked out of the room. She walked down several hallways and staircases until she arrived at the door to Laert's office.

"Hol ben be?" called Laert's voice.

"Tiana."

"Oh! Come in!"

He unlocked the door, and Tiana entered. Laert was a pale Swedish man who was 61, and because of this, he had almost no hair but small gray tufts at the bottom of his head, although he did have a gray mustache and a large beefy nose, and he wore the typical Maldonian outfit, and he held a cigarette between his fingers.

The room was very dark and small, and there was a little inside but a pile of linguistics books and grammar books, which lay in a heap on the floor around the shelf which had fallen over 2 months ago, and which Laert had been too lazy to even put back up, despite the fact that it was relatively light and would take a few seconds to lift up.

It was lit with oil lamps, for King Kabir had refused to pay for electricity for what he deemed less-important rooms, and so the oil lamps remained in those rooms. The entire room smelled awful, as Laert preferred to urinate in chamber-pots, for the nearest bathroom was several stairways up, and the walks up were hard on his back. He defecated in chamber-pots, as well, which had no lid and thus added to the odor of the room. Laert's particular brand of cigarettes also had a foul odor, as they were very cheap and poorly made. Laert himself was not very clean as he disliked walking up the stairs to the shower where the servants bathed. He himself was a rather pleasant person, and Tiana would have thoroughly enjoyed his lessons if she had lacked her sense of smell.

"Hello, Your Majesty. Are you ready for another lesson?" His accent was thick, although he spoke English very well, for he had learned at a very young age, as Naveen had, as well.

"Yes," said Tiana.

"Good. Then let us proceed."

()()()()

The details of this session would be tremendously boring for me to detail, and so let us just say that Tiana finished the lesson after 2 hours and had learned a few more Maldonian phrases than she had before. She then walked back up numerous flights of steps and walked through numerous hallways until she reached her bedroom. She sat down on the bed and sighed, feeling completely and utterly alone. She missed Tela so much. She had no friends at the palace except for her. She had attempted to strike up a friendship with some of the other maids, but none of them had seemed to notice or wish for a relationship with the Queen, not feeling themselves worthy. She had not met all the maids, however.

The fetus grew hungry, and she devoured a large quantity of food which she had sent up to her, but she grew bored, and got up and walked to the phone which hung on the wall. She dialed the operator and asked to be connected with the LaBouff mansion in New Orleans. Someone answered the phone.

"Who is it?" a voice asked. Tiana recognized it as the voice of one of the LaBouff's maids, Ancilla.

"Oh, Ancilla, this is Tiana speaking." She cleared her throat. "I'd like to talk to Lottie, please."

"Oh! Okay. I don't know where Miss LaBouff is. I shall go get her." All was silent for a few moments.

Soon, Charlotte's voice came on the line. "Oh, Tia! How's it going over there?"  
"Well, I'm pretty bored, but other than that, it's peachy keen. I just got back from a lesson with Laert, and I'm wait..."

"Oh, Lord! Ain't he the fellow with the filthy chamberpots?"

"Yes, but..."

"Jesus, Tia, why do you keep that creepy son of a bitch around?"

"Because he's a great teacher!"

"Well, you could get a hell of a better teacher than him!"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Honestly, Tia, I don't understand you at all sometimes. But anyway, how in the world's Naveen doing?"

"I don't know how the hell he's doing, 'cause he's in his office talking about some business with his advisers."

"Aw! Well, Tia, why the hell don't you go in and talk with 'em? You are the goddamn Queen, ain't you?"

"Yes, I am, but I don't know enough Maldonian yet, which is why I keep taking those lessons with Laert."

"Oh! Well, I sure as hell hope you learn soon, and I really reckon you oughta fire that goddamn Laert!"

"Well, I ai..."

"Anyway, Tia, everything's just swell here! Oh, and Lavinia and I had an absolutely gay time today! I got to see every room of her mansion, and she has got orchids like you ain't never seen! She's got a walrus head from the North Pole, a lion head from Mozaminque, an elephant head from Siam! Oh, and she's got this beautiful necklace from ancient Egypt!" She fell into a fit of giggles. "Oh, it's just the cat's meow, Tia! Ha ha!"

"Yes, well, that's pretty damn nifty, Lottie, but why the hell would she be allowed to keep an Egyptian heirloom?"

"Damned if I know, Tia!" Charlotte fell into a fit of giggles. "Oh, I almost forgot! Ain't it exciting that we're gonna have an election this year?"

"Yeah, it..."

"Hello!" Naveen threw open the door to the room.

Tiana jumped back, startled. "Naveen just showed up. I'll call you back later, Lottie."

"Oh, okay. See you soon, Tia!" Charlotte laughed as Tiana hung up the earpiece.

Tiana looked over at Naveen who shut the door and crossed, the touch of his feet light upon the floor, to her side. Carefully, he tucked an errant curl, dark and gleaming, behind her ear. He lingered there, touching her cheek, and whispered, "I have missed you, my wife." Tiana's lips spread into a broad smile as she looked up at Naveen's wide grin, falling into a dream-like state. Naveen wrapped his arms around her waist and skillfully knocked himself backwards so they fell onto the bed. Naveen's sweet breath grazed the inside of Tiana's ear. She laid her arms out wide.

"Just one minute," Tiana said. She took James in her hand and walked outside. She handed James to a maid. "Here. Take him to Graciela," she said, and walked back inside the room, locked the door, and lay on the bed.

"Let us get down to business," Naveen said. "But first..." He got up and lifted the blanket up and pulled it over them.

She ran her fingers through his hair, short and even nails scratching his scalp painlessly. He kissed the thin skin of her wrist, which passed now before his eyes.

"I never knew what I was missing before I met you," came the thin, husky whisper.

Tiana's face wrinkled as her mouth spread into a crooked, doubting smile. "Y'all certain about that? I'm better than all those other girls you met?"

"I will say nothing else," he said, reaching to cover his heart, but settling for spreading his fingers over her belly, sweat-bright and shivering. "For you know it to be true."

He smoothed his hand down the swell of her hip.

She smiled again, which revealed a small and secret crease in her cheek: he wanted to kiss that, too; that, and the fold of skin high upon her thigh, and the dimples in her knees; the rough skin of her palm; the smooth coolness of her back, arched slightly.

"I may not have told you this," he said, "but I love you." He stuck his fingers under the yellow slip of her dress and carefully began to fold it up.

()()()()

Naveen raised his head out from under the blanket and sat upright, a pleased grin upon his face. Tiana lifted her side of the blanket up, too, but she chose to remain on her back, her head atop the cotton pillow.

Naveen reached into the pocket of his pants which he had put back on, and took out his pack of cigarettes. He then tilted his head over. "So you had a pleasant visit in New Orleans, did you not?"

"Yes. A very pleasant visit," Tiana replied, her smile remaining.

Naveen took a cigarette from the pack. "Your mother is still in good health, I trust?" He placed the cigarette in his mouth.

"She's only 45."

"Oh, yes. She is no longer the busty, fair-haired woman she once was," Naveen joked, muffled by the cigarette in his mouth.

"45 ain't that old!" Tiana insisted, looking up now.

"No, it is not," he admitted, as he lit his cigarette. "My mother is a lot older. 49, to be exact."

He looked over to see if a grin had formed upon his bride's face, but one had not. He took a drag of his cigarette and then exhaled a stream of smoke that mingled with his sigh. "My father was 11 years older when he courted her, but that is the way it goes in Maldonia."

"Well, how come he waited so long?"

"Tiana, you know how much Father was like me! It is a miracle I did not wait so long!" Naveen cried.

At this, Tiana laughed, swaying her head out into the air.

"Of course, thanks to you, I am quite different from him now." Naveen took another drag of his cigarette.

Tiana chuckled.

"So, it is a new year. Estonia is really celebrating it. Did you know they changed their currency for the new year?"

"Oh, my God," Tiana laughed.

"I will never understand what the big deal is. New years go by so quickly. When I was 14, I stopped caring. Things look the same. Things are the same. What is different?" Naveen asked, and took another drag of his cigarette.

"Well, we're having an election in our country this year," Tiana replied, grinning.

Naveen took the cigarette from his mouth. "Ah, yes. I will never understand why you do that," he remarked. "Why do you elect those people, and then force them to run again or leave office after only 4 years of service? How will they get everything done for their country in 4 years? It is positively idiotic! And besides, a leader is entitled to enjoy his position, is he not? How is the President of your country supposed to enjoy his job and ever relax when he has to count down the days in the probable 4 years he has to do everything he wants for our country? He has to do something in every 1 day if he wants it done! Maybe a month, at most! It is crazy!"

Tiana laughed. "Damn. I suppose y'all do have a point. Although that 'do something every day' idea is a good motivator."

"I'll say I do!" Naveen cried.

"We have had 2 pretty damn good ones in a row now, and I am sorry we're going to lose Calvin. He was a hell of a president, and I just hope another Republican gets elected."

"Ah, yes, because only a Republican would make a good president," Naveen laughed.

"Now you're on the trolley."

"I assumed you were a Republican," Naveen said, and began to wrap his arms around Tiana's neck, the cigarette held off to the side in his right hand. "Since most of your people are."

"Well, you made an accurate deduction," Tiana admitted, frowning slightly.

"Well, now, it is not prejudice! It is the truth!" Naveen declared.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Naveen took a drag of his cigarette, inhaling the smoke. "So who are you going to support?" he asked, loosening his grip and sitting back down beside her.

"Hell, whoever the Republicans nominate," Tiana said, shrugging.

Naveen stared quizzically. "I didn't learn that much about how American politics worked."

Tiana laughed. "Yes, it is a little confusing, I guess." She sat up, then moved so that she sat with her back facing the wall nearest the left side of the bed, then cleared her throat. "So what was you fellows talking about?"

"You mean me and my advisors? Lots of things, really. Diplomatic relations, the federal deficit. Quite boring stuff, I assure you."

"It may be pretty boring stuff to tell me about," Tiana complained. "But I'm the Queen of Maldonia, and I think I should know about this stuff."

Naveen sighed. "Fine. We owe Tyfalt $300, they owe us $500, immigration into Maldonia in the coming year, and we talked about tax regulation. We talked a lot about that tax regulation."

Tiana sighed and lay down again. "I feel like I'm letting my people down, not attending these goddamn meetings."

"Well, keep taking those lessons, and we will hire a translator for the meetings," Naveen said, and took another drag of his cigarette.

"Okay. That sounds good," Tiana agreed.

Naveen sighed as he exhaled smoke through his nose. "I am glad you are back. When do you think you shall return to New Orleans next?"

"Well, I don't know. I'll probably go next month. I'll definitely go to vote in the summer."

"Go to vote!" Naveen laughed, knocking his head up and down with laughter.

"What the hell is so funny about that?" Tiana asked.

Naveen's jaw dropped. "But, but, even in America, I was told that women did not vote."

"We can, too," Tiana said harshly.

"But they told me in my lessons on American politics that you could not!" Naveen cried, shocked.

"How old was you when you took those lessons?"

"11," Naveen replied, still flustered.

"Well, that explains it. You was 11 in 1917. We won the right to vote three years later."

"But- But there is a problem, then!" Naveen cried.

"Well, what the hell is wrong with women voting?" Tiana asked, growing angrier.

"But you can't!"

"It may be unusual here, but you will not tell me what to do! Is that clear?" Tiana cried.

"But you can't! You see..." Naveen cried, his eyes wide with shock.

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do!" Tiana yelled, and fled the room.

A young maid with blonde hair who had been polishing a stand now stood some distance away from it by the door and said, "Your Majesty! What has happened?"

Mathura then entered the hallway from behind her. Mathura was the oldest maid in the palace and had been old when Queen Nagina had begun her reign. She was to have retired more than 30 years ago, but she refused to, for her job cleaning gave her so much to complain about. She now had very gray hair, and was very short, but she was also very strongly built, for she exercised so much in her old age (complaining all the while).

She now punched the younger maid in the face, yelling, "It is not maid's business to meddle in royal affairs!" She had learned English when she was very young, for many English dignitaries had visited during Queen Unnao and King Rampur's reign. She spoke it now so Tiana would know what she yelled about.

Mathura then took off down the hallway before Tiana yelled, "Mathura! You come back here!"

Mathura stopped and ran back. "Yes, Your Majesty?" she asked.

"You do not have the right to punch other maids," Tiana said sternly.

Mathura frowned, but she dared not talk back to the Queen. She had been beaten for that by 2 queens during her lifetime. "Yes, Your Majesty," she replied, then coughed as she left the hallway.

"Thank you," the younger maid replied, and curtsied in the Maldonian style (which is not at all like ours) and did it very well because, of course, she had been taught how. "I am sorry for asking."

"That's okay," Tiana replied. "What's your name?"

"Jhansi. I am sorry for speaking outside my station," the maid replied, and went back to her cleaning.

It was clear that she did not consider herself good enough for a proper conversation with the Queen, and had merely lost herself with curiosity. Tiana realized this, and so walked on through the hallways and down stairways until she got to the nursery where James was. She nursed him and sang to him, then gave him back to Graciela, and went to the kitchen, where she stayed cooking and feeding her hungry fetus for several hours.

()()()()

Naveen sighed as he lay on the bed and took another drag of his cigarette. How can I explain it to her? he thought. Eventually, he decided to simply pluck up his courage, go find her and explain everything to her. He butted out his cigarette in the ashtray by the bed, and ran out the door and into the hallway. He went over to where Jhansi was continuing to clean a stand.

"Jhansi, dwen yo daleng hoden de Quenon is (Jhansi, do you know where the Queen is)?"

"Na (No)," Jhansi replied, and curtsied in the Maldonian style (which is not at all like ours) and did it very well because, of course, she had been taught how, then continued cleaning.

Naveen ran down the hallway and into another one. "Tiana! Tiana!" he yelled.

"Is thema trongal (Is there trouble)?" a cold voice said behind him.

Naveen looked behind him to see Nagina in a nearby doorway, her piercing eyes examining him suspiciously.

Naveen rolled his eyes. "Be dones nut rafwet yo, Muya (It does not concern you, Mother)."

"Hontrodam, yo heve lofago respoko for dan muya. Bo balramo dan muya shen knee al agwenmada weje my dilantem-eg-fromalo (Honestly, you have little respect for your mother. I believe your mother should know an argument with my daughter-in-law)."

Naveen sighed. "Duela noel. Tiana wanas e voken ben de jorhab ben dils country thes cuena (Very well. Tiana wants to vote in the election in her country this year)."

Nagina gasped. She, too, had been taught as a child that American women could not vote. "But bo twiden telna wos nut alakansa thaz (But I thought that was not allowed there)?"

"Alafizon, de lafa hem halafrigal recielmon. Tiana twiden bo wos benoler sisanfro wey bo don di komad nut voken, becuadon di ben nut awala de lafa (Apparently, the law has changed recently. Tiana thought I was being sexist when I said she could not vote, because she is not aware the law)."

"Tewen yan ded nut yo esplajor e dils (Then why didn't you explain to her)?" Nagina inquired.

"Bo tralafa, but di ral abada (I tried, but she ran away)!"

Nagina scoffed. "Amazaralins, mos dralen quenons (Americans, such drama queens)."

"Bo well lasag dils ren esplajor zaratimolag (I will find her and explain everything)."

"Dwen nut. Di well pronagos bacano eserwin di laranal ils de lafa (Do not. She well probably become insane she learns of the law)," Nagina replied.

Naveen's mouth and eyes widened as he realized the truth of his mother's statement. "Yo me bay zowan (You may be right)," he told her. "But bo nazaragono masar (But I nevertheless must)."

"Duela noel, my dak. Esplajor (Very well, my son. Explain)," Nagina said, rolling her eyes at her son's assidousness as she stepped back through the doorway.

()()()()

The cooks in the kitchen had watched Tiana cook (and eat several of her ingredients) for several hours in a clearly disgruntled manner, and they began to wonder why, but were too afraid to ask. Finally, she left the room, and walked through the halls to the nursery where she walked to James's cradle and picked him up.

"Hi there, little darling," she cooed, and took him in her arms and looked over into his young face. He had blonde hair and small blue eyes. "I'm sorry I ain't spent much time with you. I want you to know that your Mama loves you." She sang to him: "Rock-a-bye baby in the treetop / when the wind blows, the cradle will rock / when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall / and down will come baby cradle and all."

"Do you intend to traumatize our newborn child?" a Maldonian-accented voice exclaimed. Tiana looked behind her to see Naveen standing, hands outstretched, his jaw dropped. "Honestly, what sort of lullaby is that? I was sung that song when I was a child, but the Maldonian version is much nicer."

Tiana placed James back in his cradle, then turned around and glared at Naveen, then turned to go. "You may be with your baby alone."

Graciela stared quizzically at them, somewhat nervous.

"But you see, I must explain something..." Naveen started.

"I don't want to hear you explain nothing," Tiana replied, and opened the door.

"No. You see, you misunderstood me before! I have to..."

Tiana turned around and crosased her arms. "No, I didn't misunderstand nothing. You made it very clear that you do not believe in women voting. I am sorry, but this is the 20th century, and I intend to vote, no matter what you say." She then walked out the door.

Naveen sighed, then after a moment's hesitation, walked to the door and pulled it open. "Yes, but you see, I want you to!" he cried down the hallway. Tiana was far out of sight. 

Naveen closed the door to the nursery. He struck a match on his thumbnail, then lit a cigarette, and leaned over the cradle and looked in at the small and soft face. "Hello, my son," he said, smiling. "Your mother is angry right now, but do not worry. It is a misunderstanding. Happiness shall be restored soon." He spoke in English, so the nurse would not understand him, which would have made him feel awkward.

He looked very hard at the body in the cradle, so small and tender, so uncorrupted by the perversities of the world. Only 21 years ago, he, too, had been so. Awkwardly, he realized that although he could not remember it, Graciela could, for she had been his own nurse when he was a child. He then turned toward her. She stared off into space, far removed from the world around her. It was clear that she was remembering him as a child. She was still, by Maldonian standards, a very young woman at 48, although her hair had begun to gray and a slight wrinkle showed on her left cheek.

Naveen cleared his throat. "Graciela," he said.

Her trance broke.

"Bo lashad de Froggi Printo zaba (I wish The Frog Prince book)," he told her, then took a drag of his cigarette.

"A're (Okay)," Graciela said, smiling a sad smile and picked it up from the shelf of books, which had been there when he was a child, for this was the nursery where Naveen himself had stayed in as a child for 4 years, and it looked very much the same.

Graciela handed the book to Naveen, who placed the cigarette in his mouth as he pulled back the hard binding and flipped through to the first page. He exhaled a stream of smoke onto the pages of the old book as he removed the cigarette from his mouth and leaned over the side of James's cradle, then cleared his throat and read, "'Anal thaz wos a anoya princessa nemonag Jade hol desagag e waga ben de fazana. Di fazali dils salafa, Minerva, ren dils fagarab giz, a smer garafen fredo. Wey di camare a buliche, kowa sprazo, di sar ren razaro. Wedo Minerva caras bavaslubs, Jade sorego dils fredo ren cazamo et washay (Once there was a young princess named Jade who decided to walk in the forest. She brought her kitten, Minerva, and her favored toy, a small golden ball. When she came to a beautiful, cool spring, she sat and rested. While Minerva chased butterflies, Jade tossed her ball and caught it again).'"

He had read this story to James for several days now, while Graciela watched gazing off into remembrance, and on the days when he did not wish to come read it, he asked Graciela to do it. He liked reading to James, and spending time with him in general, for although there were many similarities between Naveen and James's childhoods, there was one notable difference. Kabir had never spent much time with Naveen.

()()()()

Naveen remained with James for a good time after, reading the story over and over again, until finally he leaned over, kissed James on the cheek, and whispered, "Goodbye, James." He handed the book back to Graciela, who took it back to the shelf as Naveen left the room.

Naveen walked the hallways and up stairways until he got to his office where the Commitee for Welfare and several advisers of his still remained. He locked the door, then walked to the phone on the wall, and dialed.

"Me de lamaqever ils me avasaq ren de Camazal ils Wafast plase coen lesa (May the remainder of my advisers and the Commitee for Welfare please come here)!" he yelled, then sat at his desk.

Soon, the remainder of his advisers and the Commitee for Welfare arrived.

"Waal, garatino (Well, gentlemen)," Naveen said. "Ler ose teka abanze sowet ils de isago (Let's talk about some of the issues)."

()()()()

They discussed various boring affairs for 2 hours (several of them frequently used the bathroom in the office) until Naveen finally made one last statement and then ordered his advisers and the Committee for Welfare to leave. He then looked at the clock that hung on the wall and sighed. It was 7:28. He walked back to his bedroom. Tiana was not there, so he used the bathroom that was connected to the room, then sat down on the bed and read one of Tiana's books.

It was 2 hours before Tiana arrived. She walked through the bedroom doorway at 9:10, perfectly aware that Naveen might be contained within its walls, but too tired to care.

As soon as she came through the door, Naveen set down the book and walked over to her. "Tiana, please let me explain this to you."

Tiana suspected he intended to produce a moronic excuse for his chauvinistic behavior. "I don't see what you need to explain."

"Please, there was a misunderstanding," Naveen pleaded.

Tiana rolled her eyes.

"You see, I am not against you or women voting at all!" Naveen exclaimed.

"Good, 'cause I'm going to go vote later in the year," Tiana said, feeling good, for she thought that in all logic, that should be the end of it. She then lay down in bed, cracked her toes, and rolled the blanket over herself.

Naveen walked back over to the bed and looked down at Tiana. "The reason I said you could not vote is because it is against Maldonian law for a queen to vote," he explained. He felt much better at having said that, for there should now be no logical reason why his wife should remain angry at him.

"What?" Tiana yelled, her torso rising suddenly.

Naveen jumped back, startled.

"Why the hell would they make such a stupid law?" she yelled.

"I don't know, but it is a very, very, very old law that a Queen cannot vote," Naveen explained, becoming somewhat nervous, although he had realized how contentious the news would be.

"When the hell was it written, and who the hell wrote it?" Tiana asked as she jumped up.

"It is one of the founding laws of our country," Naveen continued. "It was written in what equates to your Constitution."

"Do you got a copy of the Constitution in this room?" Tiana fumed, moving swiftly into the center of the room.

"No! No, we don't, actually!" Naveen told her.

"Well, you must have some copy of it in this palace, and I want to go see it!" Tiana insisted, and ran to the door.

Naveen's eyes widened, filling with panic. "What? No! Please, let us go to bed!"

"I'll go to bed after I read it!" Tiana snapped, grabbing hold of the brass doorknob. "Now, where the hell is it?"

Naveen realized that she was inexorable, and sighed. "Fine. It is in the Maldonian Law & Records room."

"Thank you!" Tiana yelled, and flew down the hallway, entering yet more halls, and up stairways as maids and servants stared, for it would naturally be intriguing for a maid or a servant when a King and Queen appear to be having a very large disagreement. 

Tiana presently ran into a hallway which happened to contain Nagina's bedroom. Nagina looked out and said, "My daughter-in-law, what in the world has happened?"

Tiana simply continued on her way without answering.

"Well, such manners!" Nagina cried, sincerely taken aback, then turned to Naveen. "A fine woman you married! I suppose she has just heard of the law!" With that said, she ran after Tiana, creating quite a scene for the openmouthed servants and maids in the next few hallways.

Tiana then ran up a staircase, followed by Naveen and Nagina fast behind, Maldonian gossip ringing in their ears.

Tiana now ran into the Maldonian Laws and Records room. The guard became flabbergasted as Nagina and Naveen ran toward him. Panicked, he tumbled over the railing, just barely grabbing onto it as he fell through the air.

The Maldonian Laws and Records room was large and filled with almost nothing but filing cabinets, and she yelled at the guard inside, "Where the hell is the Maldonian Constitution?"

"You mean, the Nabarafok?" the flustered guard asked.

"I don't know! Is that the Maldonian equivalent of our American Constitution?"

"Yes," the guard replied.

"Then where is it?" 

It was at this point that Nagina and Naveen entered the room. Naveen looked thoroughly panicked by his wife's rage and the situation in general, while Nagina, while her eyes widened, remained very calm and unmoved by the situation.

"It is in this file cabinet, Your Majesty!" the guard yelled, and ran to the file cabinet, then bowed.

"Thank you!" Tiana yelled. She then seized the Nabarafok which lay inside, then ran to Nagina.

"Show me the part where it says the Queen can't vote!" she demanded.

"I see I was correct in my assumption of what triggered your anger," Nagina said, smiling.

"SHUT UP, AND SHOW ME WHERE IT SAYS A QUEEN CAN'T VOTE!" Tiana ordered.

"Calm yourself. And do show some manners. I shall do nothing if you express that attitude," Nagina said stubbornly.

"Mother..." Naveen said nervously.

"Please show me where it says the Queen can't vote," Tiana said, gritting her teeth.

"Oh, fine, fine, fine," Nagina agreed. "I suppose you want it in English?"

"Yes," Tiana said, her teeth still gritted.

Nagina took the Nabarafok and carefully turned it down to page 243, then cleared her throat. "Sentence 5, paragraph 25: The Queen is given a rather generous amount of rights to her kingdom which she may control, but she is denied the right to vote in any election."

"Who the hell do they think they are?" Tiana said indignantly.

"The founders of our great nation," Nagina replied smoothly. 

"Yeah, well, I ain't gonna take it!" Tiana yelled. "I don't care what the hell that book says. I - am - going - to - vote!" With that said, she ran out the threshold, leaving the rest behind.

Naveen's mouth still hung open, his nervousness clear. Nagina, on the other hand, smiled.

"Maldonian queen plans violation of Nabarafok," she smirked. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the media speculation begin."

The guard now stood posted at the threshold once more, for he had pulled himself up once he had taken hold of the stair banister. He now stepped off to the side of the doorway as Nagina walked through, then headed off down the stairway back to her bedroom, passing Tiana who stood 7 stairs below. Naveen walked down the stairway to where she stood. His eyes were wide, and it was clear that sadness, as well as regret, was present in him, especially when he spoke.

"Tiana, I am very sorry," he assured her. "I wish there were not such a stupid law, but the Queen cannot violate the Nabarafok, nor can she change it."

"Is there anyone who has the power to change it?" Tiana asked.

"No," Naveen replied sympathetically.

Tiana sighed, feeling sorrow and hatred at the dolorous law, but also lackadaisical now. She then looked down at the height they now stood at, and moved down 4 stairs. Naveen walked down them at a fast pace to catch up with her.

"Let's go to bed," Naveen suggested gently, carefully grasping her left shoulder, while still gripping the banister with the other, for the stairs continued straight to the ground, which still lay quite a few feet below.

Tiana looked into his warm, sympathetic black eyes. His mouth smiled slightly, a smile that was clear was meant purely to attempt to lighten the mood, and she was cheered slightly as she looked at his face, which expressed itself in a small smile similar to the one that graced her husband's face. 

"Okay," she said softly.

Naveen held her hand as he gripped the banister with the other and carefully stepped down onto the next step, mimicking Tiana's step, or vice versa. She felt comfort in her husband's arm and stepped lightly and almost without thinking, until she found herself stepping onto the polished marble floor of the palace. She looked over at Naveen, who stood next to her. The maids and servants who were in the hallway now paid no attention to them, performing their daily tasks as they usually did, for they had stopped gazing up the stairway and listening to the voices when they saw Nagina step onto the top stair.

Naveen began to continue down the hallway, Tiana's hand grasped in his, but as he moved, Tiana yanked his arm, ceasing his movement. She pulled free of his grasp and stood a few inches away from him, and looked him in the eye.

"But I'm gonna vote," she told him, her voice low and filled with determination. "No matter what that Nabarafok says. I - am - going - to vote."


End file.
